Oxford to Cambridge Partnership appoints two non-executive directors

The new Oxford to Cambridge partnership revealed it has appointed Dr Barbara Ghinelli and professor Lynette Ryals OBE as non-executive directors.

Ghinelli is director of Innovation Clusters and Harwell campus in Oxford, while Ryals is chief executive of MK:U - the innovation hub in Milton Keynes, and also pro-vice-chancellor at Cranfield University.

The partnership's chair Dipesh J Shah OBE said: "I'm delighted that Barbara and Lynette are joining the partnership board.

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"They bring a range of skills and experiences, as well as local knowledge, to the partnership board. I look forward to working with them in our shared endeavour across the Oxford the Cambridge region."

The partnership aims to champion the region as a world leader of innovation and business.

Ghinelli said: "I look forward to working with the partnership to enable a supportive ecosystem that encourages creativity, collaboration, and the pursuit of breakthrough ideas, so that we can unlock the full potential of our collective talents."

Ryals added: "Both MK:U and Cranfield University sit at the heart of the Oxford to Cambridge region, with close links to business, industry and the community – I look forward to working with the board to promote and harness the incredible potential of our region to deliver innovation and sustainable growth."

Ghinelli has established the cluster model deployed at both Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC’s) Harwell and Daresbury Science and Innovation campuses and oversees their development.

She has led the creation of six thriving clusters in space, health, energy, digital and a new in Quantum, across the two sites. These now include over 300 organisations collocated on the campuses, with average staff growth of more than 20% a year and supporting more than 500 organisations across the UK.

Ryal's professional background is in financial services and management consultancy. She is a fellow of the society of investment professionals, fellow of the chartered institute of logistics and a principal fellow of the higher education academy.

She has an MA (Oxon), an MBA, and a PhD from Cranfield which researched how understanding customer profitability changed customer management practices in two international financial institutions.

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